Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4: Comparing All Skaters To Their 2000s Versions

It might have taken too long for skateboarding fans, but at long last, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 has arrived. Deftly balancing between remaster and remake as it nose-grinds down a rail, developer Iron Galaxy has done a swell job at bringing two of the greatest skateboarding games of all time to new platforms and audiences. And as is evident from the second you start playing, there has been a heck of a glow-up along the way.

You might remember video game magazines of the time raving about Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 ahead of its PS2 release, as it helped push video game graphics to new heights in 2001. By today’s standards, it looks quaint, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 also looks like a strange time capsule of 2000s bleeding-edge graphics. In case you’re curious, we’ve gathered up a collection of screenshots below showing off the character models from the original games next to their modern-day counterparts. Bam Margera, a staple of the THPS series, almost wasn’t included in the new game, but fortunately, a chance visit to LA managed to rectify that glaring omission from the roster.

The resemblance? Uncanny. the differences? Shocking. The strangely shaped heads in THPS 4? Hey, who are you calling Pinhead?

Fortunately, while the older THPS games may not have aged well visually, they’re still very playable thanks to to their original developer, Neversoft, perfecting the formula for over-the-top skateboarding at the start of the new millennium. If you’re curious to see if you still have the muscle memory to land a perfect 900, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 is now available to play on PC and console.